hallock



Patented June 24, 1919.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

:EUG-ENE D. HALLOCK, OF BUFFALO, NEW` YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE REPUBLIC METAL- WARE COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, N EW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

a e 1 MUTELE-CHARGER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J1111e424, 1919.

Application led July 3, 1918. Serial No. 243,173.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE D. HALLooK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erieand State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Munic-Chargers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a loader or charger for muflle-furnaces and more particularly furnaces for burning enameled ware. y

Heretofore the articles to be enameled have been introduced into and removed from the furnace manually by means of a long bar or handle carrying a rack for the lgoods and balanced on a suitable support. This method is unsatisfactory as an attendant can carry but a limited number of articles with the necessary care and steadiness to avoid jarring them, any displacement of the ware on the usual rack-pins being liable to damagcthegoods, necessitating their sale as seconds at a reduced price.

The object of my invention is the production of a power-operated and controlled Inutile-charger `which has a comparatively `large capacity and efr'ectuallyprevents jarring of the articles, thus not onlysaving considerable time by utilizing the full capacity of the furnace, but also reducing the percentage of damaged goods orsecondsto a minimum. V

` In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 lis a sectional side elevation of the charger in connection with a Inutile-furnace. Fig. 2 is `a top plan `view thereof, omitting someparts for c earness. Fig. 3 is an enlarged topy planview of the carriage. Fig. 4 is an end` view thereof with itstracls shownin. cross section. Fig., 5 isa fragmentary longitudinal section of the apparatus, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is an enlarged `cross section on line 6&6,l Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a top` plan view of a part of the toggle-mechanism for raising and lowering the carriage-tracks.-` y

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. j y y 1 indicates the munie-furnace which may be of any suitable or well known construction and which contains the ucustomary spacedre-brick supports 2 forthe rack or tray. 3 which carries the articles 4 tqbe "eneuneled'. raela is previded' with' the usual upwardly-projecting pins 5 upon which the articles rest.

Resting on the ground or fioor and extending from a point near the front of the furnace to a suitable distance 'from it, is a fixed base frame preferably composed of parallel I-beams 6 tied together at intervals by yokesJ 7 Located above and in line with this basefra1ne is a Vertically-movable track or frame preferably composed of similar parallel Lbeams 8 and connecting yokes 9. This frame is co-eXtensive with the baseframe and supported at opposite sides by substantially upright toggles 10` pivoted at their upper and lower ends to said frames,

respectively, so that upon straightening or de- N ecting the toggles, the traclcframe is raised or lowered accordingly. `The several toggles at the same side ofthe chargerare connected by `longitudinal bars 11, so as to be operated simultaneously," the connecting pins 12 of the toggle-links carrying bearing blocks 13 to which the ends of said rods are secured.

These toggles are operated byany `suitable `mechanism but I prefer to employ for this purpose a substantially horizontal toggle 14 pivoted at-one end to standards 14 fixed to the base frame 6 and at its other end to one ofthe upright toggles 10. The central joint 14h `of the toggle 1T is connected with the piston 15 of a pressure-cylinder 16, to opposite ends of which water or other pressure `fluid is alternately admitted to actuate the toggle 14 in an obvious manner. In the `construction shown in the drawings, this pressure-cylinder is located in a pit 17 below lthe"baseframe 6 and suspended by trunnions 16EL fromhangers 18 carried by said `frame toy allow the cylinderto oscillate in following the movementsof the toggle 14.

`The entrance and exhaust of the pressure fluid to and from the cylinder 16 is controlled by a suitable valve which may be operated either manually or automatically but `is preferably controlled by the attendant.

That shown in the drawings comprises a casing 19 provided at one side with a fluid inlet pipe 20, at the opposite sidewith a fluid exhaust pipe' 21, and inl a plane at an angle to said pipes with fluid outlets 22, 23,

connected with opposite endsof the pressure cylinder by conduits 24, 25, respectively. IWithin the casing is an yoscillating valve 2.6 having ports 2"?, 28,;so arranged that in one pesition of the valve @neen-cl ef the presstruts 34.

sure cylinder is connected with thefluid inlet 20 and its other end with the exhaust 21, while in the opposite position of the valve these connections are reversed, driving the piston in one direction or the other accordingly and straightening or deflecting the upright toggles 10. The valveV 26 is operated by a suitable handle 29.

Running upon the upper movable trackframe 8 toward and from the inutile-furnaceA is a truck or carriage 30 of any suitable construction adapted to carryy the article-rack 3 intoy and outv of the furnace. In the example shown in the drawings, this carriage comprises longitudinal sills or beams 31 connected byl transverse beams 32 and stiffened by truss `rods 33 passing over rIhe wheels of the carriage run upon tracks, preferably formed by the inner flanges of the I-beams 8. Anyl suitable mechanism'may be employed for propelling the carriage back and forth on the movable frame-8. rIhatshown in the drawings consists of a cable 35 running` around horizontal drums 36, 37, suspended from said frame by hangers 38, and having'its'ends connectiedtothe front and rear portions-of the carriage, as'shown at 39and 39a. Secured to the shaft of one' of these drums are pinions 40 withwhich mesh longitudinally movable rackbars 41 secured to the rod 42 of'a'piston 43 operating in a second pressure cylinder 44. The' latter is arranged horizontally betweeny the upper and lower frames 6 and 8 and suspended from the' upper frame. Pressureiiuidis alternately admitted to and exhausted from the ends of this cylinder to reciprocate the' piston and the rack bars 41, thereby rotating the drums 36, 37 alternately in opposite directions and propelling` the carriage 30v` accordingly. The valve for controlling` theiiow of the fiuidto andv from the`l pressure cylinder 44 is not shown inthe drawings, but may be similar to the valve26.

Grooved guidey rollers 45 serve to hold the rack bars-41 in engagement with the pinions 40. These rollers aremounted on a transversev journal 46`1 carried by the adjacent hanger 38. At its front end the body of the carriage 30f is provided withl horizontal arms-or forward extensions 47 adapted' to sustain the article rack 3 and made of sufiicient length tov fully enter the heating chamber of the'furnaoe-whenthe carriage is propelled toithe front terminali of its track. rPhese carriage arms are spaced to-enter between the fire brick supports and the elevation and? rangesof vertical movement of the track-frame 8VV relative to said supports is such' that when the frame is; raised to its carriage arms support' the rackabove and clearv of the-supports,-while when said' frame is lowered toits limit, as shown by dotted lines :inf saidy ligure, `the arms descendfar enough to deposit the rack upon the supports and still clear the bottom of the heating chamber, permitting the free withdrawal of the arms therefrom.

In the operation of the charger, assuminnf the carriage to be withdrawn to the rear en of its track, the track-frame 8 is raised to its full height by admitting` iiuid to the propel' end of the pressure-cylinder 1G by means of the valve 26. After placing a filled article-rack- 3 upon the carriage arms 47, the carriage is propelled tothe front end of the elevated track-frame by admitting fluid to the rear end of the upper pressure cylinder 44, thereby introducing the rack into the heating chamber of the furnace, as shown in Fig. 1. The track-frame and the carriage are next lowered tothe dotted position shown in saidy figure to deposit the rack upon.A the refractory supports 2. The carriage is then returned to its former position andthe furnace door is closed.. When the articles have-been properly burned, the door is opened, the carriage, while still in its lowered position, is again advanced to-bring its arms under the rack, and the track-frame iselevated to lift the rack from the supports 3, after which the. carriage is withdrawn, another batch of articles is substituted for the burned: one. and the above. operations are repeated'.

By the use/of*V this apparatus, the furnace can be charged withi a larger batch of articles than by` the manual method hitherto employed, utilizing the furnace to its full capacity and effecting an` important saving in time. As the carriage is firmly supported and reliably and positively guided at all times, and'its movements are under full control, jarring of the.y articles and their displacement on the rack-pins is practically eliminated, avoiding scratchingor marring of the goods. rlhe power or leverageof the horizontal toggle'14 gradually diminishes as its deiiection increases, exerting correspondingly decreasing power on the upright toggles 10. rlhel track- 8 andv the carriage mounted thereonY thus gradually4 cometo rest without jar or jolt, whereby the burned war-e is gently. liftedI from-the pins 5 and the production of unmarredl goods is insured.

rlhe carriage can, moreover, be controlled at a distance from the furnace, rendering the work` of attendantsV more4 comfortable than that of hand-charging which requires a closer approach to the furnace.

I claim as invention:

1. A muiilecharger, comprising a vertically-movable frame, substantially upright toggles for raising and-lowering said frame, a second substantially horizontal toggle connected with the first-named: toggles, means for actuating said horizontaltoggle, and an article-carriage running upon said frame.

2.. A muiiie charger, comprising a baseframe, a vertically-movable frame arranged above said base-frame, toggles connecting said upper and lower frames, means connecting the several toggles to operate them simultaneously, actuating mechanism for said toggles, including a pressure cylinder and a piston and a second toggle-connection between said piston and the irstsmentioned toggles, and an article-carriage running upon said upper frame.

3. A inuiHe charger, comprising a baserame, a vertically-movable frame arranged above said base-frame, substantially upright toggles connecting said upper frame with the base frame, a second substantially hori zontal toggle connected with the first-mentioned toggles, a pressure cylinder and piston for actuating said second toggle, and an article carriage running upon said upper frame.

4. A muiie charger, comprising a basei'rame, a vertically-movable frame arranged above said base-frame, substantially upright toggles connecting said upper frame with the base frame, a second substantially horizontal toggle connected with the first-mentioned toggles and located between said upper and lower frames, a pressure cylinder located below said lower frame, a piston operatively connected with said second toggle, and an article carriage running upon said upper frame.

5. A charging apparatus for inutile-fun naces, comprising a vertically-movable frame facing the furnace, means for raising and lowering said frame, an article-carriage running on said frame, cable-drums carried by said frame, a cable running around said drums and connected to the carriage, a gear rack and pinion for rotating said drums, and a pressure cylinder and piston for reciprocating said gear rack.

6. A muie charger, comprising a baserame, a vertically movable frame arranged above said base-frame, toggles connecting said upper and lower frames, a pressure cylinder and piston for actuating said toggles, an article carriage running upon said movable frame, cable-drums carried by the mov-able frame, a cable running around said drums and connected to the carriage, a gear rack and pinion for rotating said drums, and a pressure cylinder and piston for reciprocating said gear rack, the last-mentioned cylinder being mounted on said movable frame.

EUGENE D. HALLOCK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for iive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of llatentr,l

` Washington, D. C. 

